It's good to talk – but cuts are putting services in danger

Increases in antidepressant prescriptions are unsurprising (Northern GPs more likely to give antidepressants, 5 March), as the tough economic climate has meant that rates of mental distress have risen across the country. But the latest research by the We Need To Talk Coalition found that one in five people are still having to wait over two years to access talking therapies, and so many GPs are still left with few alternatives to prescribing antidepressants.

Access to therapy has improved since the introduction of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, though implementation remains patchy and in many places services are very limited. It is vital that the government meets its recent commitment to invest a further £400m in continuing to expand services and ensure that people of any age, gender, sexuality or race can have timely access to the right kind of therapy for their needs. We also all need to continue to work towards overcoming stigma and discrimination about mental health, as psychological services will not meet their potential if people are reluctant or nervous about seeking the help that they need.

• The Guardian has done an excellent job highlighting the north-south divide. However, while training more therapists in cognitive behavioural therapy, the government's cuts to the NHS are shrinking adult psychotherapy departments. Psychotherapy has been a resource for CBT practitioners when patients are too disturbed to respond to CBT. Many have suffered early childhood trauma, but may not necessarily be operating at a borderline level, for which services will be maintained. Research continues to confirm the benefits of psychotherapy in such instances, leading to better functioning in work and relationships. Is psychotherapy for this group now to be restricted only to those who can afford to pay?

Marilyn Corry

New Malden, Surrey

• Camden certainly deserves credit for its development of short-term psychological therapies, but this has identified a new problem. Many of the 3,000 patients invited by GPs to start talking rather than taking medication are offered CBT for depression and anxiety, but then find that the roots of their problems stretch back to childhood and adolescence. CBT does not produce long-lasting results for early trauma.

Women and Health is one of four voluntary organisations in Camden which has been providing free or low-cost longer-term psychotherapy and counselling, and referrals to us all have increased enormously with the introduction of IAPT. We are cheap, mostly using dedicated volunteers, accessible and well respected in the community, but the funding for all these projects and the longer-term work is being cut this summer to pave the way for more short-term work.